Seeing Through the Mist
by Gervas Ashva
Summary: When Samuke Yuki found himself in the world of Naruto, he expected heroic adventures and thwarting the Akatsuki. However, a post-civil war Kirigakure shattered those ambitions. Now, in a city that wants him dead and with a psychopath for a father, he struggles just to survive. At least he has a certain red-haired friend to take along with him. OC/Self Insert
1. Chapter 1

Writhing on the blood-stained stone beneath him, Samuke Yuki struggled to his palms.

"Get up," his father said.

Body shaking, Samuke struggled to lift his head up. "I... I don't think I ca-"

His father slammed his foot into the side of Samuke's head. "Get up," he said. "If you can't survive this, then you'll never survive the graduation exam. Now, _get up_." He punctuated his words with another kick.

At the age of four, Samuke's father had decided it was time to train his son. Originally expecting ninjutsu and sparring, he was instead met with a beating. For weeks, his father had brought him outside and fought him until he eventually passed out. _'Should've been born in Konoha,'_ he thought. Managing to get to his knees, he tried to stand up.

His father kicked the side of his head, and his small body flew several feet away. "You're worthless," his father said. "Do you honestly think you can become a ninja when you're this weak?"

"Shut up," he managed, words stifled by the slow trickle of blood coming out of his mouth.

His father chuckled. "Still got some fight left in you, huh?" he asked. "If you want to make me shut up, you'll need to use your fists."

Samuke glared at his father, who had a smug look on his face. _'He's enjoying this,'_ he realized, a cold anger beginning to overtake him. _'I'm going to kill him.'_ Struggling to his feet, Samuke glared at his father, wishing the man dead.

"There we go," his father said. "Now you look like you're ready to kill me." His father took a stance, and gestured for him to attack. "Try to kill me."

Something inside of Samuke snapped, and he felt a sudden rush of energy. Barely in control of his own movements, he lifted a shaking hand towards his father. The energy inside of him roared, brought to life by his anger. The nearby ground was soon covered in a pale white frost, and his breath fogged in front of him. The air grew so cold that his straight, black hair began to freeze.

As the energy peaked, large spikes of ice formed around him. The frigid spears sailed towards his father, targeted by his cold rage. Just as they were about to reach him, his father disappeared in a flash of speed. The spears sailed onward and impaled a rock his father had stood in front of.

Completely drained of energy, he collapsed to the ground. Unable to move, the corners of his vision slowly darkened.

"Well," his father said, "looks like you're not entirely worthless after all."

His father's voice was the last thing he heard before he passed out.

* * *

Samuke sat in the corner of his room, massaging sore muscles. It had been over a year since he had first used ice release against his father, Shimo Yuki. After confirming that his son had access to the clan's kekkei genkai, his father had decided to actually begin training him. Gone were the hours of merciless pummeling each day. Instead, his father had began to train him in the skills of a ninja. The training, while no longer senseless, was still brutal.

Learn something to slow: a beating. Hesitate or make a mistake in sparring: no food for the remainder of the day. Pass out during training: no sleeping for the night. Every action he made held consequences, and every mistake left him with a scar – either mental or physical. Even outside of training, his father constantly conditioned him to think like a ninja. His room had no bed or chair. Their house had no stove or running water. His father claimed that those luxuries would not always be available to him, so he should know how to live without them.

Samuke despised his father. After his father had begun teaching him, he had made several attempts to kill the man. Nightly assassinations. Training accidents. They all failed. Shimo Yuki, head of Yuki clan and jonin of Kirigakure, was far too strong for him to kill. Surprisingly, his father did not punish him for his attempts. _'Good,'_ he had said, _'You'll need that hatred when you're a shinobi.'_

Samuke grimaced at the memory. While he hated his father, he could not deny the effectiveness of his methods. In a little over a year, his father had managed to turn his child into a cold killer. A few weeks after discovering ice release, his father took him to the Kiri prisons, and set him up in a death match against a prisoner on death row. The prisoner had been starved and weak, practically about to keel over and die. He had been forced to kill the man with his bare hands.

_'How did it come to this?'_ he thought. Samuke had awoken in the world of Naruto as an infant, excited and amazed with the world around him. However, this was not Konoha: this was Kiri. His mother had died when he was young, and his father had become the dominating force in his new life.

_'Just four more years,'_ he thought. At the age of six, children were entered into the academy, where they would graduate at the age of nine. Once a genin, he would be considered an adult and could crawl out from under his father's influence. His brown eyes flared to life at the idea of freedom.

* * *

_One year later_

Samuke stared in awe at Kirigakure. Surrounding him was a cluster of cylindrical skyscrapers, each so tall they seemed to puncture the mist draped over the village. The Yuki family lived outside Kiri, in the surrounding mountains, so this was the first time Samuke had ever set foot into the village. _'I should probably ask for directions,'_ he realized. His father had described the academy building as tall and gray. All the buildings matched that description.

He walked down the street towards the center of the village, where many vendors had set up stands. He asked his question to a burly man selling fish. His six-year-old body barely letting his head poke over the stand. "Excuse me, do you know where the ninja academy is?"

The man grimaced. "You gonna buy something?"

"No." He had no money.

"Then scram. You're interrupting business."

Samuke looked around. No one was standing near his stand. "Doesn't look like you'd have much business even if I left," he said.

The man pulled out a small knife from under the counter. "Get lost, kid. You don't want to push me."

Samuke's eyes narrowed, and he had to stop his hand from reaching for his kunai pouch. _'Always be prepared to fight,'_ his father's words echoed in his head. _'But never needlessly seek a fight.' _Begrudgingly, he stepped away from the stand.

He moved over to other stands, but was repeatedly turned down when the vendors realized he was not going to buy anything. _'Well, what now?'_ He thought. The academy was due to open in about half an hour, and he still had no idea where it was.

"Come one, Tou-san, we need to get to the academy."

Samuke turned his head. A few stalls away, a girl was pulling on her father's clothes, urging him away from a stand that sold knives. The girl had long, auburn hair and looked to be about his age. _'Wait, is that...'_ he started walking towards them.

"Give me a minute," the man said as Samuke neared them. "I lot a set of kunai last week."

"That can wait." The young girl continued to tug at his sleeve.

"Excuse me," Samuke broke in. The two turned to look at him. "Can you tell me where the academy is?"

The man stepped away from the stand and eyed Samuke. "It's at the end of that road," the man said, pointing at a nearby street. "Are you taking the entrance exam?" The man stood at well over double Samuke's height, and had positioned himself in between Samuke and his daughter.

"Y-yeah," he said. His answer seemed to make the man relax.

"Alright." The man stepped towards the street he had previously pointed to. "We were just getting ready to head over there. You can follow us if you want."

Samuke nodded in acknowledgment, and follow them. _'Why are they so hostile?'_ Everyone in the village seemed to be on edge, and this man had been prepared to fight him off the moment Samuke approached. _'I thought my father was the only crazy one.'_ He shook his head.

The girl stepped over beside him. "You're going to the academy? What's your name? I'm Mei Terumi."

_'Just like I thought.'_ He was talking with the future Mizukage. "I'm Samuke. Samuke Yuki." At his last name, Mei smiled. Her father turned around and glanced at him, face visibly more relaxed.

"That's good," the elder Terumi said. "Glad to know that my daughter won't be alone in the academy."

"What do you mean, alone?" he asked.

The man chuckled. "I take it you've never been in the village?"

"I've been once or twice. Our clan compound is on the other side of the mountains." The small Yuki clan lived in almost complete seclusion from the village.

"Consider yourself lucky. In Kiri, people with kekkei genkai are treated as second-class citizens." The man's eyes grew dark as he spoke, seeing beyond the misty street. "Clans like us have to be careful."

_'That's why he was so on edge. He thought I was going to attack them!'_ The thought made him grimace. He was used to this kind of delusional behavior from his father, but it seemed like the entire village was insane.

He felt a tap on his shoulder. Mei was grinning at him. "It'll be fine," she said. "We can watch each other's backs."

* * *

Half an hour later, Samuke was standing in a small yard outside the academy. Filled with over fifty children, the space felt cramped. Beside him, Mei was trying to peer over the crowd. Standing at the edge of the crowd, an academy instructor was explaining the exam.

"Listen up! In a few minutes, we're going to be heading to the exam site. I need you to leave everything besides your clothes here. No food and no weapons." The instructor signaled over to a bin behind him.

Samuke walked over and hesitantly put his kunai pouch with the others. _'Your weapon is your life. Always be wary of parting with it.'_ He ignored his father's voice.

After the entire yard was cleared of weapons, the instructor guided them outside of the village. Samuke stuck close to Mei. "Do you know where we're going?" he asked.

Mei shook her head. "Tou-san said that the entrance exam is usually some type of survival test, but he never said where it was."

_'Survival training won't be too bad.'_ His father already made him catch and cook his own food. "That sounds easy. We should be fine," he said.

Mei huffed. "Speak for yourself. Not all of us are hermits who live in the mountains."

"Like you said, we can work together. Two people will be more efficient than just one," he said.

Mei nodded, eyes flashing.

The group of students continued following the instructor. Soon, they had left the village gates and were crossing through the mountains surrounding the village. Wrapped in a thick veil of mist, the mountains were dangerous for unfamiliar travelers. This natural barrier kept Kiri secluded from the rest of the Land of Water. While Samuke was used to the low visibility in the mist, the terrain on this side of the mountain range was unfamiliar to him.

After well over an hour of following the instructor, the group finally reached the other side of the mountain. After everyone had gathered, the instructor spoke to the group. "Can all of you see that forest over there?" he asked, pointing away from the mountain.

Samuke looked towards where he was pointing. A couple miles away, a line of trees stretched several miles along the horizon, signaling the beginning of a forest. Besides that one patch of greenery, the entire area seemed deprived of life; the area around them was made up entirely of rocky hills.

The instructor continued. "Outside of the Kiri mountain range, the only food you'll be able to find will be in that forest," he said. "Your exam will be to survive outside these mountains for two weeks. After two weeks, you will meet back here where I will take you back to the village. Understood?"

Several people nodded. A thin boy in the back raised hand. "What if we can't survive out there?" Many others in crowd seemed to have the same question.

"I will provide food and water to any who stay here," the instructor said. "But you will not pass the exam." His eyes hardened with the last words, ensuring they all understood the repercussions. "If you have no more questions, then leave. Be back in two weeks."

After his final words, the children broke up. Samuke observed the crowd. Many seemed to find familiar faces, breaking up into smaller groups. _'Seems like most people will be taking this test as teams.'_

He felt someone poke his shoulder. "Come on," Mei said, "We need to get moving." Other groups were already starting to head towards the forest.

Samuke nodded. "Let's go."

* * *

When he first saw the forest, Samuke automatically assumed it would be the Kiri equivalent to the Forest of Death. Thankfully, he was mistaken. The most dangerous animals here seemed to be wolves, and those were easy enough to frighten off with ninjutsu. All in all, life in the woods was hardly different from life with his father. He killed hairs and other small animals with his ice release while Mei set up their camp and scouted out the surrounding area.

On the first day, they had decided to go several miles deep into the forest to avoid conflict with the other children. So far they had yet to meet anyone. After several uneventful days, Mei had asked him to show off his ninjutsu.

"Your clan can use ice release, right?" she asked. "I want to see it."

"Alright." He took a breath in, molding a combination of wind and water natured chakra and moving through a few hand seals. "Ice Release: Snow Flurry Jutsu!" A gust of snow-laced air howled out from his mouth and knocked over a small oak tree across from him.

Mei was ecstatic. "Wow! That was awesome!" She bounded over to the fallen tree that was covered in snow. "It's just like real snow," she said after moving her hands through it.

Samuke smiled at her childish actions. After years of living with his father, he rarely had an enjoyable conversation with anyone. Mei was his first friend in this world. "What about you?" he asked. "Your father said that your clan had a kekkei genkai."

A smug look popped onto her face. "That's where you're wrong," she said. "My clan actually has _two_ kekkei genkai." She held two fingers up to emphasize her point.

"And what would those be?" He already knew the answer.

"Boil release and lava release."

"Can I see them?"

At this, she glanced away. "Well... I can only use lava release right now. I'm still working on boil release."

"That's fine. I still want to see it," he said. She smiled, thankful for the encouragement.

Mei's hands swiftly moved through hand seals. "Lava Release: Corrosive Wave Jutsu!" A sheet of lava erupted from her mouth, covering the same tree that Samuke had attacked earlier. A few seconds after making contact with the tree, the jutsu ate away at the wood, barely leaving any material.

Samuke was stunned. "That... that's amazing." While the jutsu had little kinetic force, its corrosive potential was ridiculous. _'If that had been a human...'_

"Thanks," she said, grinning at the compliment. "Most of the time people look down at me for having a kekkei genkai."

Samuke frowned. 'Look down at' could mean many things. _'How deep-seeded is Kiri's hatred for kekkei genkai?'_ He knew of the bloodline massacres that occurred during Yagura's reign. _'Looks like I'll have to watch my back in the future.' _He glanced at Mei who had started walking back to their campsite. _'No,'_ he thought._ 'We'll have to watch each other's backs.'_

* * *

"Mei," Samuke said, nudging his companion in the side, "Wake up." Said companion was curled up by the embers of a small fire they had set up last night. Around them, the faint light of the sun was beginning to peer over the horizon. The morning dew still dotted the surrounding grass.

Mei turned over and groaned. "Don't wanna..."

Samuke sighed. "Come on, the test will be over in a few hours. I want to get to the meeting point early." Over the past two weeks in the woods, they had yet to see anyone. Still, Samuke wanted to minimize any risk of an encounter.

Another groan came from Mei. "Fine..."

Begrudgingly, Mei sat up. Her long, red hair was a tangled mess in her face. Despite himself, Samuke chuckled.

Mei glared at him. "What's so funny?" she asked, her tone matching her clenched fists.

"Nothing. Nothing at all." He had seen her drop a boar with a weak lava release technique. _'I'm not about to piss _her_ off.'_

"That's what I thought." She huffed.

The two young ninja began preparations to leave their small camp. Mei packed a small amount of extra food that had not been eaten. Samuke patrolled the area, meticulously checking for traces of other humans.

Half an hour later, the two were ready to head out. "You know," Mei said, "You don't have to be so guarded out here. There's only animals."

"And other students," he finished. His father had incessantly reminded him to be cautious of potential threats. Regardless of his hatred for the man, the lessons stuck.

Mei frowned. "What do you think they would do to us?"

Samuke bit his lip. "Nothing. It's just..." He sighed. "You're right: I should lighten up a little bit."

Her expression eased. "Good. Come on, Let's go." With that, she leaped into a nearby tree.

Samuke followed her, bounding from branch to branch with practiced ease. The meeting point was approximately eight miles from their current position. For a normal human, that would mean at least an hour's worth of running. However, they had the advantage of chakra and shinobi physical conditioning; they would make it to the meeting point in a little over half an hour. _'Even as children, we're capable of performing superhuman feats.'_

As they neared the edge of the forest, Samuke felt a prickling sensation shoot through the front of his body – a sign that large amounts of chakra was near him. "Mei, stop for a second."

His red-haired companion crouched down a branch, killing her momentum. "What, is something wrong?" she asked.

He nodded. "There's a group of people in front of us. About five of them. Two hundred yards out."

"You have _sensory_ abilities? Is that how you always knew when I was sneaking up on you?"

Samuke groaned. She was really not getting the point here. "That doesn't matter right now. What do you think we should do about-"

"Hey! Who are you two!"

_'Shit.'_ While he had been distracted talking with Mei, the group had closed the distance between them. He hopped out of the tree and into an exposed clearing where the group was standing. Mei followed him. As he had thought, there were five people, all academy students. The one at the center of the group had short, brown hair and a small scar along the edge of his jaw. They all looked competent.

"I said," the presumed leader continued, "Who are you?"

Samuke felt his arm start shaking. _'If they find out that we have kekkei genkai...'_ he thought. "My name's...Samuke," he said.

"Last name?" The kid's eyes bore into him.

"Satou." He managed to match his gaze.

"And the other one?" he asked, turning towards Mei.

"Uhm...I'm-"

"Oi!" One of the other kids broke in. "Isao, isn't that the girl from the Terumi clan?"

After a moment's hesitation and some shared looks, the group all pulled out small knives, lengths of bone that had been hand sharpened.

Samuke eyed the group, wishing he had thought to make weapons. "We don't want any trouble," he said, falling into a familiar taijutsu stance.

Isao, the leader, scoffed. "Yeah, right. You blood-line freaks killed my father. You're gonna pay for it." With that, the group charged at them.

"Mei! Give me cover with your lava style!" He glanced back and saw that she was already moving through hand seals.

By the time he turned back to them, three of them were already within arm's reach and slashing. He side-stepped to the right, catching the wrist of one of the attackers. _'Waste no action.'_ His elbow slammed into the boy's forearm, breaking the bone with a clear snap. As he backed away from the three, the other two tried to rush him from behind, but a corrosive blast from Mei forced them to back away.

"Get the girl," Isao ordered. The four uninjured assailants moved past Samuke and headed directly for Mei.

Samuke began weaving hand seals. _'Jump,'_ he mouthed, staring Mei in the eye. "Ice Release: Icicle Stampede Jutsu!" He slammed his hands on the ground, and a wave of sharpened spikes arose from the ground.

The four boys looked back at the sudden noise and saw the frigid spears spreading toward them. The two on the outside managed to dodge out of the way, but Samuke saw the other get impaled – one through both legs and the other through his arm. Mei had seen the jutsu being cast and had easily jumped to safety.

Samuke stared at Isao, who had managed to evade his attack. "Leave," he said, voice strong and stable despite his shaking body, "Or I'll kill you."

Isao looked at his remaining uninjured friend who had dropped his knife, a terrified expression on his face. After a few tense seconds, the two slowly helped their friends out of the ice spikes. The boy who had his forearm broken walked over to join them. As the group left the clearing, Isao glared over his shoulder. "Freaks."

Once Samuke no longer felt their presence, he collapsed to the ground. That had been the strongest jutsu in his arsenal, and it had taken almost all of his chakra.

He heard footsteps approach his spot on the ground. Mei stood over him. "Are you alright?" She reached out her hand towards him.

He grabbed her hand, hoisting himself to a standing position. "Yeah...just tired."

She snorted. "That's an understatement. You look like you're about to pass out."

"I'm fine," he assured. The exhaustion paled in comparison to what his father put him through. "We need to get to the meeting point."

Mei tugged on his hand. "No way. We'll stay here until you get your strength back."

In no position to argue, Samuke sat against a nearby tree. Mei followed suit beside him. They stayed that way for several minutes, quietly recovering and coming to terms with what had just happened to them.

Eventually, Mei asked a question. "Samuke," she said, "Did you mean what you said back there? Were you actually going to kill them?"

He grimaced. Despite Mei's skill as a ninja, she was still very much a little girl. "Yeah," he said, thinking back to the prisoner his father had forced him to kill, "I would've killed them."

His response was met with silence.

* * *

Hours later, the instructor concluded the exam. Only twenty of the students had passed, including himself, Mei, and Isao's group. Seven were missing or confirmed dead. Over twenty students had given up.

As they trekked back through the mist covered mountains, Samuke felt as if he had just taken his first real step into this world. Would he make it through unscathed? Or would he lose himself in the Mist?


	2. Chapter 2

_Two years later_

"Alright," the instructor said, "Now, perform the clone jutsu."

Samuke lifted his hands into the necessary hand seals, movements fluid from countless repetitions of this jutsu. "Clone Jutsu!" A perfect copy of himself materialized a few feet away. Nezumi – a chunin instructor with gray hair and a rat-like face – eyed his doppelganger, looking for any slight imperfections that he could use to justify failing Samuke.

After several moments of grimacing and scratching information on a clipboard, Nezumi finally gave Samuke his results. "Looks like you've passed – although just barely."

_'Yeah right,' _Samuke thought, _'We both know I aced this test.'_

"Now," he continued, "Since you were lucky enough to pass this year, you'll need to show up for classes starting tomorrow. Now get out." He practically spat the last words out.

Samuke turned away from the man and left the musty classroom that served as the exam room. In the hallway outside, Mei stood against a wall, idly twirling a kunai around in her hand. Seeing him exit, she pocketed the weapon and turned toward him.

"Hey, Sa-kun," she said, "How'd it go?"

"It's _Samuke_, not Sa-kun," he corrected.

She grinned. "Come on, I'm just having fun." Over the past two years, he and Mei had become close friends. Unfortunately for Samuke, that entailed a lot of teasing from Mei. "And you didn't answer, _Sa-kun_," she continued, "How'd it go?"

"It was easy. Although, Nezumi-sensei was looking for any chance he could to fail me."

"Same with me. He was practically breathing down my neck the whole time."

Samuke cringed at the thought. He and Mei were the only students in their class with kekkei genkai. This led to them being ostracized by the entirety of the class. Unsurprisingly, this sentiment was also shared by the majority of the teachers – Nezumi being the most open with his blood-line hatred.

"At least he can't do anything to stop us now," Samuke said. He turned down the hallway, gesturing over his shoulder. "Come on, I don't want to stay here."

The two walked down the hallway, exiting the cylindrical academy building and stepping into the yard. As always, the air was covered in a thick sheet of fog. Even though the sun was not visible, Samuke knew that it was late in the afternoon. The yard itself was almost completely empty: Samuke had been the last to be tested with his last name being 'Yuki.'

The two sat down at a bench near the gates of the academy, waiting on Mei's father. The jonin insisted that Mei not travel around the city unless he was there. By contrast, Samuke's father had told him to always keep a kunai hidden against his palm.

"Hey, Samuke," Mei said, breaking the silence, "Do you know what class you're going to take?"

"I'm...not sure." In Kiri, academy students would complete basic training in their first two years. This included shinobi protocol, basic taijutsu, and the three fundamental ninjutsu. However, third year students focused the entirety of their time on a single subject. The subjects were ninjutsu, taijutsu, genjutsu, kenjutsu, and shuriken jutsu. This streamlined training system allowed Kiri to put more skilled shinobi into the field – although their total number of shinobi was the lowest of the five villages.

"You're not sure?" Mei looked at him oddly. "I thought you would take ninjutsu since you have ice release."

"I get plenty of practice in ice release with my father," he said, "And he thinks I should take something else. Wants me to be a well-rounded shinobi."

"Sounds boring. Think I'll just stick to dissolving people."

"What if that doesn't work on an opponent?"

"Then I'll use my _other_ kekkei genkai."

"Fair enough."

A voice spoke up from behind them. "Samuke's right, Mei. You _should_ try to learn something besides your blood-line."

Samuke recoiled, standing up from the bench and facing the voice with a kunai in hand. Standing before him was Mei's father. He frowned, relaxing a little. "How do you keep doing that?" he asked. Despite his chakra sense, Mei's father could always sneak up on him unnoticed.

The man grinned back at him. "Trick of the trade." Kono Terumi was one Kiri's strongest jonin. While Samuke liked to consider himself strong, he knew that people like Kono and his own father were far beyond him in skill.

Samuke looked at Mei, who had hardly reacted to her father's sudden appearance. "How are you so calm? Did you know he was there?"

She shrugged. "You get used to it."

Apparently, Samuke was not the only one with a strange father.

"Come on, Mei," Kono said. "We need to go."

Mei hopped up from the bench. "All right. 'Bye Samuke."

"See you tomorrow," he replied as the two Terumi left the yard.

While Mei and her father were heading for the residential section of the village, Samuke had to head out to the village's entrance to get to his house. Unlike Mei – who stuck out in a crowd thanks to her hair – Samuke was able to blend in to the crowded streets. He stuck to the edge of the city roads, keeping his head ducked and his weapons concealed.

As he escaped the walls of the village, Samuke allowed himself to relax. After years of trekking these foggy trails, he had grown comfortable walking through them – regardless of the low visibility. Here – in the misty mountain air – he was free. No obnoxious teachers watching his every move. No students trying to provoke him.

After almost half an hour of walking, he reached the Yuki clan compound. The settlement was laid out in a valley between two small mountains and was made up of around half a dozen houses. In total, the Yuki clan had only about twenty members, and Samuke and his father were the only ones who had manifested ice release. That statistic disgusted Samuke's father. Shimo Yuki claimed that the clan had once had over fifty members, with over half of those fifty able to use ice release.

_'He wants me to restore our clan to greatness,'_ Samuke thought. Thinking of his father, Samuke focused his chakra sense towards his house. Once focused, he felt a familiar tingling sensation against his skin. It felt like countless strings were attached to his skin, pulling him in the direction of his house. '_My father's home.'_

After quietly walking to their doorstep and opening the door, Samuke found the man sitting in the back corner of the room, meditating. Samuke tried to stalk past him towards his room.

"Did you pass?" Shimo asked, eyes still closed.

Samuke silently swore. "Yes," he replied, voice cold.

His father was silent for a moment. "Meet me in the training area." They both knew it was not a question.

* * *

"Again."

Standing on a lake, Samuke drew a breath in – the air white with the chill of his own chakra. He dropped a hand into the flowing water and willed ice release chakra into it. Ice quickly spread around him and eventually covered the entire surface of the lake. Task now complete, he cut the flow of chakra and collapsed onto the cold surface.

His father grunted. "You managed to freeze the entire surface," he said, "But the sheet of ice is too thin. If I wanted to, I could freeze every drop of water here."

Samuke's brown eyes tried to burn through the man. "I'm still an academy studen-" A foot slammed into his face.

"That won't stop the assassins. I've seen them walk into our compound and burn houses down – women and children included." A familiar manic expression had twisted his father's features.

Samuke wiped the blood off of his face. "The Sandaime ended the civil war before I was even born."

The elder Yuki scoffed. "The Mizukage ended it only after the blood-line users were crippled. Mark my words, Samuke, the true civil war is not over yet."

_'He's not wrong about that.'_ Years before he had been born, Kirigakure had waged a genocidal civil war against blood-line users. From Samuke's knowledge of the future, he knew that Obito would use that hatred to start another civil war by manipulating Yagura.

"You have an hour." His father cut into his thoughts. "Meditate. Recover your chakra. And then you'll try again."

Samuke grimaced. _'This is gonna be a long night.'_

* * *

_The next day_

Samuke stumbled into the academy classroom, tired after a night of training with his father. After his first successful freezing of the lake, his father had told him to freeze it over four more times or he would not be allowed to sleep. Samuke only managed the feat three additional times.

"Training with your father?" Mei asked as he practically fell into the seat beside her.

Groggily, he nodded. "He had me freezing the lake over all night."

Mei shot him a surprised look. "You have enough chakra for that?"

"Barely." Each attempt had spent all of his chakra.

"Hang in there," she said. "You can move into my Dad's house after we graduate."

He gave her a small smile. "Thanks."

Their conversation was cut short by an academy instructor opening the door and striding into the classroom. Donned in the standard uniform of Kiri ninja, he looked unfamiliar to Samuke. "Listen up," the man said. "This is year is going to be your last year in the ninja academy." His dull black eyes scanned the room.

"As you all know, you'll all be focusing your training on a single subject this year. Outside," he gestured to the hallway, "The surrounding doors will be labeled with a subject. Enter the classroom with the subject you want to train in and the instructor in the room will tell you the rest. Dismissed." He strode out the door.

Students around Samuke began to stand up, heading to their new classes. He and Mei waited for the crowd to die down. "Have you decided on a class yet?" Mei asked from beside him.

He nodded. "Taijutsu." His long range capablities were already incredibly powerful with ice release. He needed to hone his skills in close quarters.

Mei frowned at his answer. "Well, can't say I'm happy about that." She looked away from him towards the window. They had always stuck together at the academy – both for safety and enjoyment.

He laid a hand on her shoulder. "You'll be fine. Most people will probably sign up for kenjutsu or taijutsu. There will probably only be one or two other people in the ninjutsu class." They wouldn't be able to gang up on Mei like usual. "And we can still hang out after class," he added. His words seemed to ease her tense expression.

During their talk, the classroom had emptied out into the hallway. The two blood-line users finally stood and walked outside the classroom. Stepping up to a door that read 'taijutsu,' Samuke entered the room. Inside the run-down classroom, four other students were sitting at desks. When they saw Samuke, most of them looked away, a sour expression on their face. A small boy with light brown hair jumped at his entrance, face pale.

"Ah, a latecomer," a voice said.

_'Nezumi,'_ Samuke thought. _'Of all the instructors, why did it have to be him?'_

Said instructor currently held a smirk on his face as he glared at Samuke. "Now that we're all here, I was thinking we could devote today to sparring," he said, gaze never leaving Samuke. "So, everyone partner up, and we'll head outside to the yard."

"There's an odd number of students, Nezumi-sensei," a student pointed out. Counting Samuke, there was only five.

"Samuke," he explained, "We'll be sparring with _me_."

* * *

Outside, the students took places in the yard, each pair moving into small sparring circles for their fights. Nezumi took a stance in front of Samuke. "The rules are simple," he said. "Only use taijutsu. No lethal techniques against your opponent. No leaving the ring. We'll stop in thirty minutes to take a break." The malicious smirk never left his face. "Ready. Go." He charged at Samuke.

Samuke was instantly pressed into the defensive, dodging and blocking an onslaught of kicks and punches. While the blows were nothing compared to his father's invisibly fast movements, they still far exceeded Samuke's capabilities. He jumped back to the edge of the ring.

The moment's relief was dashed when Nezumi landed beside him and swept his legs out with a kick. Twisting his body along with the momentum of the kick, Samuke landed in a handstand and sprung over his opponent. _'Now's my chance.'_ Nezumi's back was wide open and he was still over-extended from the kick. Samuke threw a heavy punch, loaded with as much power as his small body could create.

Before it could connect, Nezumi spun around in a flash of speed and threw another kick at Samuke. The blow cannoned into his chest and sent him flying out of the ring. Samuke landed head-first into a nearby oak tree, his skull splintering the wood. Head spinning, Samuke sat up.

"Back in the ring," Nezumi said. "We still have twenty-nine minutes to go."

* * *

Hours later, Samuke sat at the edge of the yard, waiting for Mei and rubbing several bruises on his body. While Nezumi was not as relentless as his father, the chunin pulled no punches. _'In a way,'_ he thought, _'That's the ideal training for me: I'll always be pushed to get stronger.'_ His father had certainly proven it to be an effective method.

Resigning himself from his thoughts, Samuke glanced around the yard. Opposite from him, a small boy stood at a wooden post practicing katas. It was the same brown-haired boy who had jumped at his entrance into the class. Samuke watched the boys movements. His form was shaky – probably tired from hours of exertion. Bored and curious, he walked up behind the small boy.

"When you punch, you should turn your hips with the strike," he said.

Startled at the sudden noise, the boy jumped back and turned towards Samuke with a terrified expression. His face sunk further when he realized who Samuke was.

Unabated, Samuke sunk into a stance. "Like this." He demonstrated a proper punch. The boy's face still looked like he was staring at a ghost. _'Worth a shot,'_ Samuke thought. He turned, trudging back to his corner in the yard.

"W-wait." Samuke stopped in his tracks and turned.

The boy had stood up. "L-like this?" He threw a punch, hips now twisting with the motion of the blow.

Samuke grinned. "Not bad. But try to press through your back leg more. That's what's generating the power."

The boy tried again, adjusting his technique to Samuke's instruction. For several minutes, the two stood in the yard, practicing. Samuke found the experience refreshing: the only person his age he ever spoke to was Mei.

Eventually, Samuke stopped to impromptu training. "Alright, your form's looking good now. You should probably rest for today."

The boy relaxed from his stance. "B-but shouldn't I keep training?"

Samuke shook his head. "You don't want to over-exert yourself." Samuke knew the effects of that far too well.

"Okay." The boy turned towards him. "My name's Osore Akuba," he said, voice still anxious.

"Samuke Yuki. But I take it you already knew that?" As far as Samuke knew, Osore was only openly terrified by Mei and himself.

Osore glanced at his feet. "Y-yeah...I'm sorry for...reacting that way. My mom told me that people like you were nothing but mindless killers."

_'People like me,'_ he thought. Because he could freeze water, he was looked at as some sort of freak. "Well," he said, "Do I seem like a mindless killer?"

Osore's eyes widened and hastily shook his head. "N-no! In fact, your nicer than most of the other kids."

_'At least there are some people in Kiri with an open mind.'_ Osore, it seemed, was willing to judge Samuke off of his actions and not his blood. "Osare," he said, "Do you want to become stronger?" The way he had been practicing against the log reminded Samuke of Rock Lee – maybe even Naruto himself.

The boy's gazed hardened. "Yes. I want to be stronger." For once, his voice was steady.

Samuke grinned. "Everyday after class, meet me here. We'll train for an hour or so." It would be a lot of work combined with his father's training, but Samuke thought he could handle it. "By the time we're done, you'll be stronger than Nezumi-sensei."

* * *

The days passed by quickly for Samuke. He quickly grew into a stable habit: train at the academy in the morning, tutor Osore in the afternoon, and then practice ninjutsu with his father in the evening. The small, brown-haired boy proved dedicated and determined. Within weeks, Osore was out-performing the other students in their taijutsu class.

Samuke also saw growth over the months. Now, when he sparred with Nezumi, he was not the only one walking away with bruises. Once he realized he could no longer toss Samuke around, the gray-haired instructor had stopped sparring with him, and Osore became Samuke's sparring partner.

Eventually, Mei caught wind of their training sessions. After convincing her father to let her stay at the academy longer, she joined their training sessions.

"So," Mei began, "What do you two usually do?"

"Usually, I help Osore with his katas and some physical conditioning for about half an hour," Samuke said. "Then, we spar for the rest of the time."

Mei blanched. "Just...just taijutsu?"

"Yep. Just taijutsu."

"You do realize that I train ninjutsu almost exclusively?"

Samuke crossed his arms. "Then this will make you a much better ninja, _Mei-chan_."

Although she had her complaints about it, Mei still participated in their training sessions. Eventually, Samuke added in ninjutsu to the practices. He and Mei would teach Osore some basic water release jutsu and spar with their own kekkei genkai. As the trio grew in strength, they grew closer as friends. For once, Samuke and Mei had someone else their age to talk to.

* * *

_One year later_

Samuke blinked his eyes open to the dim light of his room. He stood up from the corner that served as his bed and put his clothes on. Walking to the door, he opened it and stepped into the main room of the house. His father was standing just outside his door with his back to the wall.

"I take it you know what today is?" Shimo asked.

He glanced at the ground. Today was his last day at the academy – the day of the Exam. "Yes. I know."

"Do not fail." His father took a step towards him. "Do not show mercy." Another step. "_Do not hesitate_." By this point he was within arms' reach of Samuke. "Do I make myself clear?"

Samuke flinched. "Yes." His hand was shaking.

With one last glare, his father turned towards his own room. "If I find out you that you didn't kill your opponent, I will kill both of you." There was no doubting his words.

* * *

Samuke walked through the run-down hallway of the academy. He passed by the usual row of classrooms where standard classes were held. At the end of the hallway, two chunin were standing by the entrance to a stairwell.

"You here for the Exam?" one asked. His voice was rough and he had a long scar running down the side of his face.

Samuke nodded. The chunin moved away from the stairwell. No emotion showed on either of their faces.

Once he reached the bottom, the stairwell opened out into a massive stadium. The stadium was roughly the size of a football field and looked nearly identical to the one in Konoha's Forest of Death. In the center, his classmates were gathered around the instructors. Spotting Mei and Osore, Samuke walked over to them.

"Hey," he said.

They both turned to look at him. "Hey, Samuke," Osore said, meeting his eyes. After a year training with them, Osore had opened up and abandoned his past shyness. "Are you ready?"

Samuke gave him a small nod. "Yeah." He turned towards Mei.

The auburn-haired girl was staring directly at the ground. Samuke winced. Though she had never said anything about it, Samuke knew she had been dreading this day for a long time. "Mei," he began, putting his hand on her shoulder, "Are you okay?"

"I-" she bit her lip, still looking at the ground. "I'm not sure about this."

"Mei, it'll be alright. You can take anyone here."

She whirled around towards him, tears welling up in her eyes. "What about _you_?" she asked. "What if we have to fight each other?"

Samuke glanced at the ground. What would they do?

Osore stepped up beside of him. "If that happens, then you can just forfeit."

_'If I find out you that you didn't kill your opponent, I will kill both of you.'_ Samuke looked back at Mei. "Yeah," he lied, "I'll just forfeit."

Slowly, Mei nodded.

An academy instructor stepped forward. It was the same one who had greeted them on their first day. His charcoal black eyes scanned the crowd. "Today," he began, "Those of you who are true shinobi will have the chance to prove yourself. A ninja must be willing to sacrifice everything for the sake of their mission." His eyes landed on Samuke. "Today you will prove yourself by killing the very people you trained with."

He waved his hand behind him, gesturing at a box. "This box holds papers with the names of everyone in this class. We will draw the papers in pairs, and those two people will fight to the death. Should both people refuse to kill the other, they will be disqualified and barred from joining the shinobi ranks."

The crowd had no reaction to his words. They knew what they had signed up for.

The man dipped his hand into the box.

"The first match will be Samuke Yuki-"

He felt his legs tense up. His hands refused to stop shaking.

"Versus Osore Akuba!"


	3. Chapter 3

Samuke stared at the instructor. _'Did he just...'_

By his side, Osore grimaced. "Damn," the small boy said, "Well, we can both just forfeit." He turned towards the black-haired Yuki. "Right, Samuke?"

He looked at the ground. "Osore," he began, "It's...not that simple."

Osore's eye widened. "What..."

Mei grabbed his arm. "Samuke, what are you talking about?"

"My father said that if I don't kill my opponent, he'll kill both of us."

Osore's face paled. "So..."

Samuke turned, meeting his friend's gaze. "Get ready, Osore."

* * *

After their names had been called out, the other students walked to the stands, and the instructors took up positions around the two combatants. Across from Samuke, Osore stood with a dazed look on his face.

"Osore." Samuke's voice came out far louder than he intended. "I'm sorry."

His eyes seemed to bulge out of skull. "You're...you're serious?"

Despite himself, Samuke glanced away. That was the same terrified look that Osore had given him a year ago. "This is a death match, Osore. I _have_ to be serious."

"But-"

"It's either one of us or _both_ of us." His father never went back on his word.

The dark-haired instructor cut into their conversation. "If you're both done, I'd like to begin the match." His black eyes betrayed no emotion.

Samuke grit his teeth together. _'End it quickly.'_ He stirred his chakra within himself and allowed the cold energy to well up in his hands, visibly creating a misty shroud around himself. Across from him, Osore's hand shook as he pulled out a kunai.

The instructor rose his hand. "Begin," he said, swinging his arm down.

Samuke was instantly weaving hand seals. "Ice Release: Ice Spear Jutsu!" A long, pointed piece of ice formed between his hands. The second it was fully formed, it flew towards Osore. The small boy rolled out of the way and began charging straight towards Samuke. _'He's trying to close the distance. Make it so my ice release is less effective.'_

Samuke kicked off the ground so he flew backwards and began forming more hand seals. "Ice Release: Snow Flurry Jutsu!" Osore failed to dodge the wide column of snow-covered air, which knocked the wind out of him. Samuke threw a handful of kunai at his stunned target, aiming for his chest. However, Osore saw the attack and crudely blocked it with his arms.

"Give up, Osore." Samuke stared at his friend's blood-soaked arms. "I don't want this to be harder than it has to be." He channeled chakra into his arms, preparing for a final jutsu.

Osore beat him to the punch. "Water Style: Water Clone Jutsu!" Beside Osore, two clones of himself materialized.

_'Shit.'_ As the two clones rushed Samuke, he was forced to cancel his jutsu and engage the clones. Samuke jumped over a sweep towards his legs and stabbed his kunai into the skull of the clone who attacked him. The clone's body fell apart into a puddle of water. As he landed, the other clone threw a kick at his face. Samuke caught the kick with the side of his arm and countered with a punch of his own.

Moments before the hit landed, he felt a sharp pain on the side of his torso that interrupted his punch. A pair of kunai had dug into the area just under his ribs. _'The real one!'_ He back-stepped away from the clone and turned to see the real Osore charging at him. _'He worked his way into my blind-spot while I fought his clone!'_

Samuke leaped back to the edge of the arena, preparing another jutsu while Osore and his clone charged him. "Ice Release: Icicle Stampede Jutsu!" As he slammed his hands to the ground, massive glacial spikes rose towards his opponent. The aftermath of the jutsu left the arena divided in half by a wide line of icicles.

Samuke took a deep breath in, hand clasped on the side of his wound. At the very least, the jutsu left him out of Osore's line of sight; if he was lucky, then the jutsu took out the brown-haired boy. He shook his head. _'I can't take that risk.'_ He channeled chakra into his hands. _'Let's hope that this works.'_

* * *

Samuke jumped on top of the frozen remains of his jutsu. At the other side of the arena, Osore looked mostly unharmed. His clone was nowhere in sight. Samuke clutched the kunai wound at his side. The blood had now soaked through his shirt. "Give up, Osore," he called. "It'll be easier if you don't resist."

The small boy eyed him carefully. "You look like you're doing worse than I am." The terrified look that had been on his face before was gone and was now replaced by a look of cold anger – a look of betrayal. "Why don't _you _give up." He drew a kunai.

Slowly, Samuke pulled out his own knife. He jumped down from the large icicle he had stood on and took a stance facing his friend, hand still covering his bleeding side. Truth be told, Samuke looked like he could barely put up a fight.

Osore charged him, lashing out at Samuke's vulnerable side. Samuke feebly warded off the attacks, constantly backing away from his opponent. Seeing Samuke tire further caused Osore to intensify his assault. Soon, Samuke found himself with his back pressed against the wall of the arena. Cornered, he threw the kunai at Osore. His friend easily blocked it.

"Shit..." he muttered.

Osore glared at him. "Why can't you just forfeit. Why not just run away from your father?"

Samuke scoffed. "It's a death sentence either way, Osore. At least this way, one of us lives."

"Yeah." Osore threw his kunai at Samuke. "_Me."_ The knife tore through the few feet separating the two boys and buried itself deep in the center of Samuke's neck...

...and Samuke's body shattered into pieces of ice.

Osore recoiled. "Wha-" His sentence was cut off by a kunai slamming into his temple. Osore collapsed to the ground.

The _real_ Samuke stood behind his collapsed friend, breath heaving.

The instructor trudged up to Osore's body and crouched to check for his pulse. After a moment, he stood and turned towards Samuke. "Winner: Samuke Yuki." The entire arena was silent. Casually, as if nothing had happened, the instructor held out a headband towards Samuke. "Congratulations. You graduate."

Samuke stared at the man. The instructor acted like this was all a big joke. _'This bastard.'_ His hand went for his kunai pouch.

Instantly, the instructor grabbed his wrist and pulled his arm over his head. "Don't even try it," he warned. "You wouldn't be the first student I've killed." His fingers dug into Samuke's wrist, drawing blood.

After a moment, Samuke grunted. Taking that as confirmation, the instructor released his wrist and shoved the headband is his hand. As the instructor walked back towards the box containing everyone's names, Samuke just stared at Osore's body lying limp on the floor.

The instructor dug his hand into the box. "The next match..."

* * *

An hour later, Samuke stood in the stands next to Mei. So far, Mei had yet to say anything regarding his match against their friend. The two just silently stood there while more of their classmates were pitted to the death against each other. Samuke's newly won headband stayed tucked in his kunai pouch: he had no wish to look at it.

Mei was the first to break the silence. "I...I know you had to do it, but..." Her hands ground against the railing they stood next to.

"You wish that there had been another way," he answered.

She nodded. Below them, the ninth match of the day was taking place. Two boys with ninjatos were slowly circling each other. So far in the exam, all but one of the pairs of students had fought to the death. One student had been unable to finish off his friend at the last moment.

"Are you ready for your fight?" Samuke asked. She was one of two people who had yet go down to the arena.

"Yeah. My opponent's Isao." She gestured to where the genin stood.

_'Isao...'_ After their encounter in the forest, the boy had kept his distance from them. Despite that, Isao still made it well known that he hated all blood-line users. _'At least she won't have any problems holding back against him.'_

In the arena below, one of the combatants had managed to cut into his opponent's wrist, causing him to lose grip of his sword. After a moment's hesitation, the winning student sliced his blade through his opponent's neck. Once the instructor had confirmed the boy dead, he awarded the victor and moved back to the box.

"The next match will be Mei Terumi versus Isao Kimura!"

Samuke turned to his red-haired friend. "Good luck."

"Thanks." She walked down to the arena to meet her opponent.

Isao was already down at the arena, clearly eager to face his opponent. Over the years, the boy had honed his skills in kenjutsu. The instructors had taken to calling him the best up-and-coming swordsman of their generation. _'If he gets over confident,'_ Samuke mused, _'then Mei will have an easy time defeating him.'_

The two students took up their stances – Mei focusing her chakra with hand seals and Isao holding his ninjato in front of himself. The instructor rose his hand. "Begin!"

Isao rushed forward, keen on closing the distance to attack his target. Similar to Samuke's fight against Osore, Mei focused on creating distance from her opponent to make her ninjutsu more effective.

"Lava Release: Corrosive Wave Jutsu!" A spray of acid erupted from Mei's mouth, forcing Isao to back out of the range of the jutsu.

"Boil Release: Acidic Mist Jutsu!" Mei breathed out a white fog that quickly spread throughout he area in front of her. Soon, the entire area between her and Isao was filled with the mist.

_'If Isao gets caught in that...'_ Mei's jutsu had an effect similar to mustard gas. Unless someone had a dense coat of chakra protecting them, their skin would melt while their throat burned and suffocated them.

Isao seemed to understand the danger of the fog: he kept backing away from it as the mist slowly crept towards him. Mei, however, was not yet done with her attack.

"Lava Release: Corrosive Wave Jutsu!" From the cover of her previous jutsu, Mei launched another wave of acid. Unable to see where the jutsu came from, Isao barely managed to avoid the blast. Mei continued on like this: constantly changing her position behind the fog and sending jutsu towards the area where Isao stood.

Eventually, one of Mei's jutsu made contact with Isao's foot. As his leg buckled out from under him, the air was soon filled with the shrill sound of his screams and smell of burnt flesh. Taking the opening, Mei weaved through a final set of hand seals.

Isao kept screaming. "NO! PLEASE, I-" Acid sprayed across his face, silencing him. His body hit the floor with a dull thud. The proctor did not bother to check if he was alive.

"Winner: Mei Terumi." The black-haired man held a headband up to Mei. "Congratulations. You graduate."

Hesitantly, Mei took the headband. Visibly, she appeared to be fine - save for the way she stood stiffly in the center of the arena. However, Samuke knew her better than that. _'She may have hated Isao, but she hated killing him far worse.'_

"The rest of you, come down here!" The instructor's voice rung out through the arena. The graduates made their way over to him, solemnity weighing down their feet.

The instructor's eyes observed them with that ever-present emptiness they possessed. Remorse, it seemed, was foreign to him. _'Is this what I'm to become?'_ Samuke's fingers burrowed into his hands._ 'An emotionless servant to the village? A slave to the mist?'_

"Today," the instructor said, "You all become shinobi of the Hidden Mist. Today, you become a tool that will serve the village's every need. No matter what stands in your way – be it enemy, civilian, or _comrade_," his eyes flashed across the genin, "you will _always_ put the village first."

"Tomorrow, you will be assigned into squads under a jonin sensei. Meet in the yard at regular class time. Dismissed."

The group of nine genin broke up. Some left the arena immediately. Others lingered and formed silent groups. Samuke trudged over to Mei, who had yet to move from the spot she had finished her match in. He came to a stop a few inches from where she stood. Not wanting to push her, he said nothing, they stood in silence for a long moment.

"I knew I had to kill him," Mei said. "I can think of a hundred different reasons for why I _should_ have killed him." Her brow furrowed as she focused on the ground.

Samuke sighed. "But you still don't feel right about it."

She nodded. "I hated him. I really did. I almost smiled when I saw his face melt off." She turned toward him. "That scares me. I shouldn't enjoy killing people."

"You're still you, Mei. You're still my friend. Nothing changes just because you wanted revenge."

His words eased the tension on her face. Her blue eyes brightened a bit. "Thanks."

Samuke managed a small grin. "Come on, let's go home." He turned towards the exit. Though still conflicted, Samuke felt a measure of relief. _'Finally,'_ he thought, _'My father no longer owns me. I can live my own life now.'_

That freedom had costed him one of his best friends.

* * *

When Samuke and Mei made it outside of the academy, Mei's father standing out by the gate. The tall, red-haired jonin saw them exit and walked over to them. "You're both alive," he observed, a small smile on his face.

_'But at what cost.'_ The thought rung out through Samuke's head. Regardless, he forced his face to remain neutral. "Yeah," he said, "We both passed."

"Were there any...problems?"

Samuke glanced at the ground. "No. There weren't any." He felt Mei's eyes bore into the side of his head. "Let's go." He wanted to get away from this place as soon as possible.

Kono frowned at him for a moment. It was obvious that the elder Terumi saw through Samuke's lie. After a moment, he finally moved towards the gate. "Alright, We'll leave."

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Kono had led them to his house. Unlike most clans, the Terumi clan was far to small to have a complex of their own. Instead, Kono and Mei lived in a small house tucked into Kiri's civilian area. Here at least, the people were not openly hostile to those with kekkei genkai. Had they tried to live in the shinobi district, the ninja there would probably attack them.

After Kono opened the door to the house, Samuke stepped into the building. By the standards of his first life, it was cramped, but it was far better than the wooden shack his father owned.

"Well," Kono began, "Make yourself at home. You can sleep on the couch and store your things in that closet." He gestured to the closet in question.

_'Beats sleeping on the ground,'_ he thought. As for the closet, the only things that Samuke had brought with him had been weapons and the pair of clothes he wore. Said clothes now had a blood-stained hole where Osore had stabbed him. _'I'll need to get new ones.'_

"Thanks for letting me stay here, Terumi-san."

"No problem, kid. Mei told me how bad you had it with your father." He glanced at the his auburn-haired daughter. "In fact, half the time she wouldn't shut up about it."

"Tou-san!" Mei's cheeks were tinged pink.

Her father chuckled. "I'm kidding." He turned back to Samuke."Well, it's just the three of us here. If you need anything, just ask."

Samuke nodded. While Mei had never said it directly, Samuke had always had the suspicion that her mother had never been a part of her life. Whenever he mentioned the subject to her, she changed the subject or just flat-out avoided the question.

Several hours later, Samuke sat on the couch. Kono and Mei had already gone to their own rooms to sleep, leaving Samuke alone in the small living space. He rubbed the bridge of his nose. _'Why the hell did it have to be Osore?'_ He stared down at kunai resting on his lap – the same one that had torn through Osore's skull. _'All this. All this because of my father.'_ His grip tightened on the knife. One day, he would be strong enough to kill his father. _'One Day.'_

"Samuke?" Mei's voice interrupted his thoughts.

Samuke looked over at Mei who had stepped out from the hallway. Her eyebrows furrowed as she saw the knife. "Hey, Mei," he said. His voice sounded hoarse.

Mei sat down on the couch next to him. Her eyes never left him. "Is...is that the kunai that...?"

"Yeah."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Samuke stared down at the weapon. "I...I don't know." He was still trying to figure out how felt about it. Objectively, he knew killing Osore had been the right decision. But he could not shake the image of Osore's face, twisted from betrayal.

They sat in silence for several minutes, and the concerned expression never left Mei's face. "It's fine if you don't feel like talking about it," she said, resting her hand on his shoulder. "But just remember that I'm always willing to listen. We're friends for a reason."

Samuke looked up at her soft green eyes. "Thanks, Mei."

"No problem."

* * *

The next morning, Samuke and Mei stood in the academy yard along with the seven other students who passed. Looking at the tall academy building, Samuke could not help but relive what had happened yesterday.

"Why can't they just assign us teams and get this over with?" he muttered. He wanted to get away from this place as soon as possible.

"Do you think we'll be placed on the same team?" Mei asked him.

"Probably. I imagine we'll be placed on a squad that's based on offensive ninjutsu," he said. "You know; cause of the kekkei genkai."

Mei considered that for a moment. "Then who do you think our sensei will be?"

He shrugged. "Probably some ninjutsu specialist."

On the other side of the yard, the door to the academy building opened and the black-eyed instructor walked out along with Nezumi and the other instructors. The students gathered around them to here their squad placements. "Listen up," the instructor said, "I'll call each of you out in groups of three along with your jonin sensei. From this point on, they'll be in charge of your training and assignments."

"Team One is still in action. Team Two will be Samuke Yuki-"

Samuke's ears perked up.

"Yume Hozuki, and Mei Terumi."

He grinned at Mei. "Told you."

Mei lightly pushed his arm. "Shh, I want to here our sensei."

"Your sensei will be Kono Terumi."

Mei blanched. "Wait...Tou-san?"

_'That could've been a lot worse,'_ Samuke thought. At least he could trust Mei's father to treat him like a normal person.

Once the instructor had finished naming the rest of the teams, the genin were told to wait in the yard for their sensei to arrive. Shortly after they were dismissed, Mei's father walked through the front gate. Spotting their new sensei, Samuke and Mei walked over to him.

"Tou-san, why didn't you tell me that you were going to be our sensei?" Mei asked.

"It's _Kono-sensei_ now, Mei." He grinned at her. "And I didn't want to ruin the surprise." As Kono continued talking to Mei, Samuke saw his eyes focus on something behind them. "Ah, you must be Yume," the jonin said.

Turning over his shoulder, Samuke took his first look at his new teammate. Yume was a small girl with light blonde hair and blue eyes. Samuke remembered her from his first years at the academy. While she was never openly hostile towards Mei or himself, she did always avoid them.

Yume nodded at Kono. "Yes, sensei, I'm Yume Hozuki." Her face maintained a slight frown. Clearly, she had not wanted to be on a team with three kekkei genkai users.

"Well, now that we're all here," Kono said, "I want us to head out to the training grounds."

* * *

A few miles out from the village gates, the newly-formed Team Two was in one of the genin training grounds. The area was a patch of flat ground set up against the side of the mountains bordering the village. Though it was clear of all trees, the ever-present mist still hung over the training area.

"Before we begin with any training," Kono said, "I think we should become more familiar with each other." He pointed towards his daughter. "Mei, tell us about yourself – specifically your strengths and weaknesses in combat."

"I'm a long-range ninjutsu specialist," Mei began. "I have two kekkei genkai – boil release and lava release." She turned to face Yume – the only person who was not familiar with her. "Basically, I either melt people with acid or acidic mist. My taijutsu isn't very good, so I'm pretty bad in close-range combat." Yume responded with a small nod.

"Good." Kono turned towards Samuke. "Now you, Samuke."

"I'm a mixed ranged attacker. While I focus mainly on my kekkei genkai – ice release – I'm also proficient in taijutsu. In addition to that, I can also sense chakra signatures," he said. "I'm not very good at it, though."

"Yume."

"I'm a long range ninjutsu and genjutsu specialist. I use water release and genjutsu created by the Hozuki clan." She looked at Mei. "I'm also weak in close-range combat."

"What about you, sensei?" Samuke asked.

Kono considered for a moment. "Not today," he said. "Today, I want to focus on you three."

Samuke brow scrunched up. He knew Kono was strong and assumed that he had at least one of Mei's kekkei genkai, but he did not know exactly what Kono was capable of.

Kono continued. "As I'm sure you all noticed, our team is centered around long-range combat. The majority of our training we'll be spent on honing your individual techniques." He formed a hand-seal and two water clones materialized beside him. "Today, I want to start that training. Each of you will train with either myself or a clone." He looked at each of the genin. "Let's get started."

* * *

Samuke stood at the edge of the training clearing with Kono. The elder Terumi had stopped him just outside a line of trees that bordered the clearing and the mountains.

"So," Kono said, "Training you will be rather difficult."

Samuke glanced at him. "Because of my kekkei genkai?"

"Yeah. Your father's the only one who'll be able to properly teach you how to use it."

Samuke's hand clenched. "I'm not going back to him."

Kono lifted his hands up, palms open. "I know. I know. It just makes my job a little harder." He dug his hand into a bag he had slung over his shoulder and pulled out several sets of scrolls. "So, instead of solely training your ice release, we're going to focus on the two natures that comprise it." He handed the scrolls to Samuke. "Those scrolls are from the jonin library and contain all of the village's water and wind release jutsu that are A-rank and under."

Samuke's eyes stretched. "Isn't that..."

"Illegal?" Kono finished. "Yeah, it is. So don't let anyone see you with those."

"Understood." The information in these scrolls was the equivalent of nuclear missile codes. "Is that all I'll be doing? Just learning these jutsu?"

"Actually, there is one more thing. You have sensory abilities, right?"

"Yeah."

"Can you sense your teammates and my clones?" Kono asked.

Samuke closed his eyes and focused on his inner chakra. He could feel a strong tug from in front of him – Kono-sensei. Stretching out his senses, he felt for the more distant signatures. "I can feel one group over there." He pointed. "I can't feel the other group."

"Can you tell if Yume or Mei are in the group?"

"...No. I can only distinguish people if they're close to me."

Kono nodded thoughtfully. "Okay. So, it looks like your sensory range is around a quarter of a mile. Today, I want you to work on the jutsu I gave you and also see if you can sense the second group. Also try to distinguish who is in the groups," he said. Hesitantly he added, "And do it with your eyes open; sensing chakras should be second-nature to you."

Samuke bit his lip. He had never actively trained his chakra sense. "Is this important?"

Kono nodded. "The ability to sense an ambush minutes before it happens or even just locate a target is invaluable to any team."

Samuke had never thought about it like that. "Okay. Is that all?"

"Yeah. I'll be back in an hour to check up on you." The jonin turned over his shoulder and began walking away.

Opening the first scroll, Samuke began to study the massive collection of jutsu given to him. _'I'll keep getting stronger,'_ he thought, _'And one day, I'll make my father pay for what happened to Osore.'_

* * *

AN: I'm so sorry that this chapter came out so late. Even though the semester hasn't started, I already have a stupid of homework. I'll try to keep the updates more regular from here on out.

Thanks to everyone for the support you've given me on this story. I've had this idea for a long time and finally got down to writing it. Special thanks to everyone who leaves review on these chapters. You guys are awesome!


End file.
